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  Niederndodeleben, Germany (AFP) July 29, 2018 Withered sunflowers, scorched wheat fields, stunted cornstalks - the farmlands of northern Germany have borne the brunt of this year's extreme heat and record-low rainfall, triggering an epochal drought. As the blazing sun beats down, combine harvesters working the normally fertile breadbasket of Saxony-Anhalt in former communist East Germany kick up giant clouds of dust as they roll over the cracked earth. "It hasn't really rained since April and that's the main growth period for our grains an ... read more |
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Wildfires, drought hit Sweden's Sami reindeer herdersStockholm (AFP) July 27, 2018 Sweden's unprecedented drought and devastating wildfires are destroying vital grazing pastureland for indigenous Sami reindeer herders, whose livelihoods are already under attack from mining and logging as global warming changes the face of the Arctic. ... more 
Murkowksi: Tariffs hurt more than just agricultureWashington DC (UPI) Jul 27, 2018 President Donald Trump has been called on by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to take a broad view on trade policies to recognize that impacts extend beyond farming into the energy sector following his announcement of aid for U.S. farmers this week. ... more  
Sri Lanka waives debt for 200,000 women in drought areasColombo (AFP) July 25, 2018 Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would waive debts for 200,000 women unable to repay microfinance loans and cap lending rates after a number of borrowers in drought-hit areas killed themselves. ... more 
EU court extends GMO rules to new techniquesLuxembourg (AFP) July 25, 2018 Plants and animals created by new techniques of genetic modification should be treated as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and follow European rules aimed at preventing damage to the environment and health, the EU's top court said on Wednesday. ... more |
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Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs to 18 Three Vietnam men survive 40 hours at sea after typhoon Typhoon Fung-wong floods Philippine towns, leaves 5 dead in its wake Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in Philippines Over 1 million evacuate as deadly Super Typhoon Fung-wong nears Philippines Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 28 | Jul 27 | Jul 26 | Jul 25 | Jul 24 |
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Japan lifts ban on Canadian wheat importsTokyo (AFP) July 20, 2018 Japan on Friday lifted a ban on Canadian wheat imports more than a month after it halted shipments following the discovery of unauthorised genetically modified (GM) plants there. ... more 
China's 'livestock revolution' demands 'new transition'London, UK (SPX) Jul 23, 2018 Demand for animal protein and increasing wealth fuelled a tripling in the domestic production of livestock in China between 1980 and 2010, and the rise, despite some improvements in efficiencies at ... more 
Dying groundskeeper to testify in Roundup cancer trialSan Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2018 A California groundskeeper dying of cancer is slated to testify Monday before jurors hearing evidence in his lawsuit blaming Monsanto weed killer Roundup for his terminal illness. ... more 
HRW urges Brazilian lawmakers to reject new pesticide lawSao Paulo (AFP) July 20, 2018 Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Brazilian lawmakers to reject a proposed law to relax regulations on the use of pesticides as it published a report blaming powerful landowners for the poisoning of rural residents. ... more 
Environmental changes in the Mekong Delta spell trouble for farmersUrbana IL (SPX) Jul 24, 2018 The Mekong Delta is home to 15 million people, many of whom rely on the delta's rich soil and water resources for farming and fishing. But their livelihoods are being threatened by rising sea levels ... more |
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 Dying groundskeeper links Monsanto's Roundup to cancer 
Cameroon's anglophone crisis hits palm oil, cocoa productionLibreville (AFP) July 18, 2018 The crisis in anglophone Cameroon is damaging the Southwest Region's economy, with palm oil plantations closing and the cocoa trade tumbling, an NGO report said Wednesday. ... more  |
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Taiwan steps in after China turns off tourist taps to PalauTaipei (AFP) July 19, 2018 Taiwan has stepped in to help its ally Palau attract more tourists after an airline from the Micronesian nation said it was forced to shut under pressure from China. ... more 
Using 'shade balls' in reservoirs may use up more water than they saveLondon, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 Preventing reservoir evaporation during droughts with floating balls may not help conserve water overall, due to the water needed to make the balls. During droughts, communities may rely on wa ... more 
Researchers engineer bacteria to create fertilizer out of thin airSaint Louis MO (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 In the future, plants will be able to create their own fertilizer. Farmers will no longer need to buy and spread fertilizer for their crops, and increased food production will benefit billions of pe ... more 
European heatwave brings drought, wildfiresLondon (AFP) July 20, 2018 Wildfires in the Arctic Circle, drought-stricken farmers and a spike in hospital treatment for sunburn: an unusually long heatwave this summer has northern Europe in its grip. ... more 
Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 yearsCopenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread ... more |
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 Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018 
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey.
Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more |
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 Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2018 
Arianespace has successfully launched four more satellites in the Galileo constellation. Liftoff was at 8:25 a.m. (local time) July 25, 2018 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Today's launch was the 99th mission by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher. It was carried out on behalf of the European Commission as part of a contract with the European Space Agency ... more |
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 Edinburgh UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
Forests in tropical regions could soon become a source of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming rather than helping to counteract it, according to research.
Loss of trees to agriculture or livestock in tropical regions and the impact of climate change is limiting the forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a study shows.
This could make it impossible to meet the main go ... more |
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 Lincoln NB (SPX) Jul 27, 2018 
In 1977, researcher Rudolf Thauer proposed a theoretical ceiling on the amount of hydrogen that bacteria could produce via fermentation, the sugar-converting process also responsible for yogurt, beer and cheese.
Propelled by a genetic engineering technique that presents bacteria with a simple choice - adapt or die - research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln just punched through that ... more |
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 Washington DC (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing technology for unmanned aerial vehicles that has given them the ability to fly for more than 12 hours by harvesting energy from the atmosphere and the sun.
Solar-Soaring is a pair of endurance enhancer technologies. They aid the warfighter by enabling a UAV to fly longer without carrying extra weight in batteries.
"One ... more |
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 Thuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 
Using outputs from a high-resolution regional climate model, KAUST researchers have confirmed the potential for wind as a significant energy resource across the Arabian Peninsula. This is an important first step in developing a strategy for Saudi Arabia's wind energy sector.
As part of an ongoing collaboration with the University of Notre Dame in the United States, Marc Genton's research g ... more |
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 Durham NC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
The coal industry may have declined in the last decade because of the rise of cheap natural gas, but a coal mining method called mountaintop removal is still taking place, particularly in central Appalachia.
A new web-based mapping tool shows, in more detail than ever before, the land laid bare by mountaintop coal mining in central Appalachia each year, going back more than three decades. ... more |
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 Chikan, China (AFP) July 25, 2018  A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying's red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop.
Wu is one of several dozen inhabitants of a historic section of the town of Chikan in southern China who are stubbornly holding out against government pressure to sell their properties to make way for a "heritage" theme park ... more |
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 Boston MA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 
Researchers at MIT have created what may be the smallest robots yet that can sense their environment, store data, and even carry out computational tasks. These devices, which are about the size of a human egg cell, consist of tiny electronic circuits made of two-dimensional materials, piggybacking on minuscule particles called colloids.
Colloids, which insoluble particles or molecules anyw ... more |
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 Berlin (AFP) July 27, 2018  Organisers have been forced to scrap the swimming leg of the Hamburg Ironman this Sunday due to high levels of algae in the city's Alster river caused by the current heatwave.
The condition of the water has been deemed "potentially harmful to health", so the swimming has been replaced by a six-kilometre (3.7mile) run.
"In order to protect all athletes, there will be a 6km run instead of ... more |
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 Redding, United States (AFP) July 29, 2018 
The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings.
The largest of the fires menacing the state has nearly doubled in size, while another pushed thousands of people to flee an ... more |
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 Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
The ocean, long a source of inspiration for exploration and discovery as well as a place to test the limits of humans, is no longer the wild frontier it once was. An international study published in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that only 13 percent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness.
"The idea of wilderness is powerful for people, as well as for nature," said UC ... more |
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 Paris (AFP) July 27, 2018  Intense heatwaves like the one which fuelled Greece's deadly wildfires are set to become increasingly frequent around the world due to climate change, experts warn.
- Is the current heatwave exceptional? -
Record high temperatures have been registered across the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks, from Norway to Japan.
Sweltering summers are the norm in Greece, where at least 82 peo ... more |
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 Washington (AFP) July 25, 2018 
US President Donald Trump hosts European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday for what is set to be a tense face-to-face, with efforts to resolve a festering trade dispute between the two key economies seemingly deadlocked.
Speaking ahead of the White House talks, Juncker admitted he was "not very optimistic," while Trump kicked off the day with a combative series of tweets vowi ... more |
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 Paris (AFP) July 28, 2018 
The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars' closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle.
As Earth's constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon.
Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capita ... more |
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 Wellington (AFP) July 29, 2018 
New Zealand authorities have been accused of "vandalism" after they stripped the ivory key tops from an antique piano shipped into the country by its British owner.
The 123-year-old upright piano should have been exempt from strict rules aimed at cracking down on the ivory trade, because it was built before 1914.
But owner Julian Paton, an English heart disease researcher who emigrated ... more |
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